Even though the deadline for taking the final exam has not yet arrived (as of noon on Monday, May 7), I’ve updated the WebAssign grades display so that the final exam grade is now included in the grade calculation. Here’s what that means …

• For those of you who have already completed the final exam, all your grades data for the semester is now included in the WebAssign grades display, i.e. the homework average, the test average, and the final exam grade are all displayed, and the overall average that is displayed is based on the formula given on the Grade Info page at the class website.
• For those of you who have NOT yet completed the final exam, the present calcuation inserts a ZERO exam grade temporarily. So your accurate final average and grade will not be displayed until WebAssign updates at midnight following the day on which you take the exam. (In other words, don’t fret about your grade until after you see that WebAssign has included your exam grade in the computation. You can determine if this has happened by simply looking at the info displayed when you check the grades tab in your WebAssign home page.)

For the next couple of days please direct any questions you have to Jenn. I expect to have all official grades submitted to Registration and Records by Thursday evening of this week.

This weekend I will post final grades for all students who take the exam this week. For those who take the exam Monday or Tuesday of next week (May 8-9), I will post final grades on Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

There will be periods next week (May 7-12) when I will not have Internet access. If you have an emergency situation during that period, you may contact Jenn to see if she can help.

The final exam window opens on April 30, and that date also marks the end of homework extensions. This means that you CANNOT continue any work (for credit) on homework beyond April 29. Extensions will be turned off on April 30, meaning that even if you have requested an extension prior to April 30, the extension will end on the morning of April 30.

If extensions are open during final exams, it tempts students to defer doing the Part 6 assignments until after taking the final exam so that they can determine whether they “need” to do the Part 6 homework in order to achieve the grade they’re looking for. To remove this temptation, I decided several years back to cancel homework extensions when the final exam window opens. So the bottom line is that you should be sure to get your Part 6 homework done by the due dates and then concentrate on study for the final exam once the exam window opens.

Class evaluations are now available at the following link:

https://classeval.ncsu.edu/

It is very helpful to teachers and to the university and to other students if you will fill out this evaluation. The course evaluations are the primary manner in which students can provide feedback on existing courses.

Thanks for your participation and help

The final scoop on Test #3 is that 45 students took the test with the class average being 67.3. But a key piece of data is that the average fell considerably on the final day of the tests. (Prior to Thursday the average was about 74.) Now this doesn’t mean that waiting until the last day causes a bad test grade. But it does seem to indicate that the students who defer the test until the last day do tend to be the students who are less well prepared for the test. No big surprise here I suppose. But maybe it does provide a little incentive to try to get both the WebAssignments and the tests done before the last minute.

The window for the final exam is April 30 - May 8. However, I would encourage you to get the exam out of the way during the first week if possible, ie April 30 - May 4. Last minute complications are always a possibility, and you don’t want to risk something coming up that might prevent you from completing the course. Furthermore, I’ll be out of the country during that period and that will make it more complicated to work out special arrangements that might be necessary if something unexpected arises. If you already have firm plans to take the final exam May 7 or later, stick with your plan. But if you’re still waffling on when to take the exam, I’d encourage you to get it done by May 4.

One of the most useful concepts in Part 5 is the notion of conditional probability. In everyday life we frequently learn information that makes us reevaluate the likelihood that some particular event might occur. For example, if a friend tells you that she’s not feeling well, you might start to worry that she’s not likely to want to have dinner with you tomorrow evening. So you adjust the probability that the two of you will be having dinner together.

The two primary methods of doing calculations involving conditional probability are:

1. Simple use of the definition of conditional probability, and
2. Tree Diagrams

When you’re using the definition of conditional probability, the individual probabilities that you need to know are often determined by the counting techniques of Part 4. So be sure to review the primary techniques learned in Part 4 as part of your preparation for Test #3 which begins on Friday.

Welcome back from the long Easter weekend. This week is the final big push. The final three WebAssignments on Part 5 are due, and Test #3 begins on Friday. The test must be completed by Thursday of next week, April 19.

Even if you still have the last few assignments in Part 5 to do, you’re past the toughest part. (Most students think that parts 5.3 and 5.4 are the most challenging.) But in any case remember that the semester is starting to wind down, and staying on schedule is now more important than ever.